Connect call with Diksha Rathi
Today I interviewed Ms Diksha Rathi, a previous Women Techmakers Scholar. Presently, she is working at Microsoft, Hyderabad India. My coach Ayushi Mrigen connected us and I am thankful to her to acquaint me with such a beautiful personality.
We planned to have our call with Youtube live and it did not work. We ended up having the hangouts video call without recording. Anyway, I will be detailing each and every bit of the conversation as much as possible. The interview went as below:
- It would be really nice if you introduce yourself?
Yes, I am Diksha Rathi. I am a previous Women Techmakers and GHCI Scholar. Now, I am working with Microsoft at Hyderabad.
2. How did you get to know about the Techmakers as I have seen many girls lack awareness about these scholarship programmes?
Yes, it is true that there are a lot of awareness issues. I was also unaware until one of my friends passed on an email thread with content saying applications are open for the Google Women Techmakers Scholarship. I gave it a try and filled the form.
3. What was the selection criteria?
I received an email saying that I will have a telephonic interview. Before that, while applying, we had to answer three essay questions and upload our resumes.
During the telephonic interview, I got to know that it is not only doing some projects but we should also think about the financial perspective. We should not only finish off with coding. We should also think of the impact it has on the community. So that was the biggest take away I had from the interview. And finally, I received an email saying that I am selected for the scholarship.
4. Can you tell me about your experience at Google?
Sure, during our time it was at Google Hyderabad. I went there and got to know that it must be ensured that no two people from the same place will share a room. We get roommates who are strangers to us. That made me think that Google thinks so much for us. We can connect with lots of people. The same night we had a dinner at Google office and got to know and speak to more people.
The next day we had breakfast at the Google office. Actually, Google made all these arrangements for us. Then we had talks on becoming a good orator, experiences of a googler and how to face the interviews. There were lots of non-technical talks.
5. So, you did not have any technical projects or internship there?
No, there was no internship sort of thing. It is actually improving oneself, connecting with more people who compete with you and sharing experiences.
6. How is Microsoft Diksha?
Microsoft is inspiring me. Here we have products and services section. I am a consultant. Now I get to work with big projects. We deliver lots of products like Xbox etc which everyone uses. So, I feel more close to customers. I get to work with almost all the new technologies like blockchains, AI etc. So, I am really happy.
7. Did you receive any job offer from Google post the scholarship?
No, you don’t get any job offers due to the scholarship. But yes you can apply to any open position that suits you. If you are a previous scholar you get preference but you will also have the usual 4–5 rounds of interview. Also when you attend the scholarship programme you can connect with lots of googlers. They can also refer you and you get to know precisely when there is a vacancy.
Recently, I applied but couldn't clear the interview. I try again anyway. Ensure that you are well versed with data structures, algorithms and SQL. These are the common questions asked.
8. What would you be doing if you were me?
Yes, I would have connected with as many people as possible. Take up maximum scholarships. I have also seen many people asking me to guide them. I don’t support that very much. It is you and your skills that are being tested. You should try everything and learn from it. In the end, it is just the learning that remains.
9. I also got know you were a GHCI scholar. Tell me something about that?
I was a GHCI scholar in 2015. But since I couldn’t postpone my exams I could not attend the programme. But I made it next year and attended the GHCI 2016. Again it is a place to connect with lots and lots of people.
10. Did you attend the career fair as well?
Yes, I attended the career fair even though I was having my job in hand. What you should remember is that GHCI creates a lot of swag with their goodies. GHC does not have much. You should not engage yourself much in filling your bag with goodies. Rather you should visit maximum booths you can. At these stalls, there will be people working at those companies. You can learn from them what are the areas that the company is presently working in and match your skill sets with their requirements.
You can connect with people who may be having 15+ years of experience in the computer science field. They can refer you to their company or guide properly as how to mould your career. So attend the career fair and visit a maximum number of stalls.
11. Are you planning for some higher studies or continue the job?
No, I am not planning to go for higher studies as of now. I am loving my job and problem solving that I get to do. Maybe sometime later I may go. As of now, I am not planning anything such.
12. I am almost done with my questions. If I keep asking we may cross the time bounds. It was nice speaking to you and I expect we stay connected in future too.
Sam here. Stay connected and try and connect with as many people as you can.
And the call ended by each of biding goodbyes. I must say she is a really nice person to talk with. She was so happy to share her experience. I could see the glitter in her eyes when she talks about the scholarships and her achievements. She told me she had no intention to get into the computer science field but she loved it when she started attempting competitive coding.
From this call, I got to know how important it is to connect with people in your field. I am in to expand my connections and keep live the connections that I already have.
